Paris1127:[news.bbcimg.co.uk image 464x495]Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt are apparently not a part of Africa... Nor are the island nations generally listed as part of Africa (Madagascar, Comoros, etc).

ginandbacon:That is so weird. Do they think they're in the Middle East?

I have no idea, but I'd think most of those countries' populations are on the Mediterranean Sea, and separated by the rest of the continent by the world's biggest desert, so they probably are more inclined to be associated with those cultures, not the African continent per se. But then hell I've never set foot over there, what do I know.

Confabulat:ginandbacon: That is so weird. Do they think they're in the Middle East?

I have no idea, but I'd think most of those countries' populations are on the Mediterranean Sea, and separated by the rest of the continent by the world's biggest desert, so they probably are more inclined to be associated with those cultures, not the African continent per se. But then hell I've never set foot over there, what do I know.

I think homosexuality is illegal in all of those countries but I have a lot of gay friends that have had wonderful vacations in Morocco. (Admittedly not lately.) They are all predominantly Muslim I believe except for Ethiopia and Eritrea? It still seems odd to not include them in "a map of Africa."

ginandbacon:I think homosexuality is illegal in all of those countries but I have a lot of gay friends that have had wonderful vacations in Morocco. (Admittedly not lately.) They are all predominantly Muslim I believe except for Ethiopia and Eritrea? It still seems odd to not include them in "a map of Africa."

I dunno though. The wording is poor but Africa is really really really big. At some point you have to scale in further or you may as well just put everything on there and call it Earth. It's not like the USA or Australia or Russia or China or Canada or other big places either, at least those places are united by a single government. These are small volatile nations that probably have a million blood disputes with each other, or they don't even know each other exist. Even the countries listed have about zero in common with each other after awhile, I'm quite sure.

Confabulat:ginandbacon: I think homosexuality is illegal in all of those countries but I have a lot of gay friends that have had wonderful vacations in Morocco. (Admittedly not lately.) They are all predominantly Muslim I believe except for Ethiopia and Eritrea? It still seems odd to not include them in "a map of Africa."

I dunno though. The wording is poor but Africa is really really really big. At some point you have to scale in further or you may as well just put everything on there and call it Earth. It's not like the USA or Australia or Russia or China or Canada or other big places either, at least those places are united by a single government. These are small volatile nations that probably have a million blood disputes with each other, or they don't even know each other exist. Even the countries listed have about zero in common with each other after awhile, I'm quite sure.

I'm always disappointed when African religious leaders don't look like this.This is nice and all, but it seems odd that it's getting press now. I mean, it's been in their constitution for years, and they're legally doing great with LGBT stuff even by Euro standards. I hope witchdoctors aren't killing gay albinos for their fashion sense.

Confabulat:ginandbacon: I think homosexuality is illegal in all of those countries but I have a lot of gay friends that have had wonderful vacations in Morocco. (Admittedly not lately.) They are all predominantly Muslim I believe except for Ethiopia and Eritrea? It still seems odd to not include them in "a map of Africa."

I dunno though. The wording is poor but Africa is really really really big. At some point you have to scale in further or you may as well just put everything on there and call it Earth. It's not like the USA or Australia or Russia or China or Canada or other big places either, at least those places are united by a single government. These are small volatile nations that probably have a million blood disputes with each other, or they don't even know each other exist. Even the countries listed have about zero in common with each other after awhile, I'm quite sure.

It seems kind of pointless to lump them all together anyway.

Big doesn't begin to really to do the scale justice. The Sahara alone is nearly the size of the entire US. 3.3 million square miles versus the US' 3.79 million. Yeah, it makes the South West's desert look like a blip.

For all its size, Africa still only has a billion people with a GDP of 2 trillion USD, so it's behind India and China in both. India and China were both made of a bunch of other countries and brutally colonized. And almost all of Africa is in the African Union, so, you know, it's not super unreasonable to lump them all in one.

staplermofo:For all its size, Africa still only has a billion people with a GDP of 2 trillion USD, so it's behind India and China in both. India and China were both made of a bunch of other countries and brutally colonized. And almost all of Africa is in the African Union, so, you know, it's not super unreasonable to lump them all in one.

MorrisBird:staplermofo: For all its size, Africa still only has a billion people with a GDP of 2 trillion USD, so it's behind India and China in both. India and China were both made of a bunch of other countries and brutally colonized. And almost all of Africa is in the African Union, so, you know, it's not super unreasonable to lump them all in one.

Yeah, it kind of is.

CSB time. One of my coworkers was a white guy raised in Kenya. He would tell people he was from Africa and people would tell he wasn't because he was white.

Mid_mo_mad_man:MorrisBird: staplermofo: For all its size, Africa still only has a billion people with a GDP of 2 trillion USD, so it's behind India and China in both. India and China were both made of a bunch of other countries and brutally colonized. And almost all of Africa is in the African Union, so, you know, it's not super unreasonable to lump them all in one.

Yeah, it kind of is.

CSB time. One of my coworkers was a white guy raised in Kenya. He would tell people he was from Africa and people would tell he wasn't because he was white.

I've read Dante and I fail to understand the downside of hell. I've also come to devalue pain as never being any worse than a sign of over doing something, and if you no longer have a body to worry about then there's no worries about any amount of pain involved. I think I got that from Heinlein's Job. Or maybe Hellraiser.

/Hmm, is there an appropriately packaged box set of Hellraiser movies?

Mid_mo_mad_man:MorrisBird: staplermofo: For all its size, Africa still only has a billion people with a GDP of 2 trillion USD, so it's behind India and China in both. India and China were both made of a bunch of other countries and brutally colonized. And almost all of Africa is in the African Union, so, you know, it's not super unreasonable to lump them all in one.

Yeah, it kind of is.

CSB time. One of my coworkers was a white guy raised in Kenya. He would tell people he was from Africa and people would tell he wasn't because he was white.

You messed up the joke, genius. It revolves around a misunderstanding of the term "African-American". The humor is derived from the two differing interpretations of the word being incompatible.

Of course, since I have you fav'd as "inflammatory racist", I'm guessing you were just trying to be clever and failed.

wildcardjack:I've read Dante and I fail to understand the downside of hell. I've also come to devalue pain as never being any worse than a sign of over doing something, and if you no longer have a body to worry about then there's no worries about any amount of pain involved.

The painful punishment is only symbolic of their sin - Dante's depiction of Hell is the prime example of Ironic Hell. The actual punishment of Hell is not what's happening to them in the various Circles; it's the total isolation from God. You are in Hell because God does not give a shiat about you. There's no redemption, no forgiveness and no way out once you're in there. All the souls in Hell feel this isolation from the Divine, even those that don't understand it, and that is the true source of their pain; the punishments are symbolic but ultimately incidental to the actual torment of Hell.

And I looked up "homophobia" in Merriam-Webster just out of curiosity:

Definition of HOMOPHOBIA: irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals.So if you disapprove of homosexuality, how are you not homophobic, exactly? Do you have a rational reason?

Confabulat:BraveNewCheneyWorld: Shedim: BraveNewCheneyWorld: You can disapprove of homosexuality without being homophobic.

How?

Look up the definition of homophobic. It should be pretty damn apparent if you have an IQ above 80

This is known as the "Orson Scott Card" argument. It's pretty childish. They like to hide behind dictionary words so they can pretend they aren't bigots.

Ah, so using the proper meaning of words is now "childish"? Seriously, how weak is your argument when you resort to that kind of claim? From webster, "homophobia : irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against." That's not even close to "disapproval of". Can you honestly say you have an "irrational fear" of everything you "disapprove of"? Stop being stupid.

BraveNewCheneyWorld:Look up the definition of homophobic. It should be pretty damn apparent if you have an IQ above 80

From Wikipedia:Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). It can be expressed as antipathy, contempt, prejudice, aversion, or hatred, may be based on irrational fear, and is sometimes related to religious beliefs.

From what I understand, "disapprove of homosexuality" just sounds like a more polite synonym than an actual distinction. So on what grounds can you "disapprove of homosexuality" without being homophobic?

Shedim:From what I understand, "disapprove of homosexuality" just sounds like a more polite synonym than an actual distinction. So on what grounds can you "disapprove of homosexuality" without being homophobic?

Can you not think of a single thing that you "disapprove of" that you don't also feel "antipathy, contempt, prejudice, aversion, or hatred"for? I don't believe you.

jchuffyman:BraveNewCheneyWorld: You can disapprove of homosexuality without being homophobic.

I disapprove of homosexuality in the sense that I would never engage in homosexual acts...because I'm not gay. Disapproving of other people doing it? Yeah, you're a bigot and a homophobe

I disapprove of people getting face tattoos, but I don't hate them if they do, nor do I fear them. But keep up that willful ignorance if it makes you feel like a better social justice warrior of the internet!